Snowy Days and Starry Nights
by Cotton Candy Mareep
Summary: Just one snowy Starry Night out of many in Zephyr Town, centering on the lives of the bachelors and bachelorettes in the windy valley (and the local kids' antics, as well). Because Grand Bazaar rival couples never get any attention. [gift twoshot for Fading Butterfly Wings!]
1. Snowy Days

**A/N: Here is my (pathetically late) TVS Secret Santa gift for Fading Butterfly Wings! I hope you will still get to read and enjoy this eventually, despite my horrid untimeliness as mentioned previously. It was originally intended as a oneshot, but then I realized it was well over 5,000 words and I honestly don't like posting oneshots over that word count, so the twoshot was born. This is technically eight very short stories in one, anyway, so at least they divided up nice and evenly. This is a winter fic, and it certainly isn't currently winter where I live, but if you're in a warm area like me right now, perhaps you can enjoy this little break from the sun and heat of summer. I'm happy to have finally posted this fluff Grand Bazaar twoshot, as the game gets so little attention in fanfiction compared to the big popular Harvest Moon games.**

 **-CCM**

* * *

Snowy Days...

"This is going to be _fantastic_!"

Kevin bounced up and down in the snow excitedly, pausing only to give his pink haired friend Cindy a high five while her identical twin Lauren stood stiffly behind her. The three children of Zephyr Town were at the very top of the large hill where the snowboarding contest had been held just the week before. The sky, which looked a lot closer than usual from this height, was full of thick grey clouds that released a light flurry of snowflakes around them.

Lauren peered at the snow-covered slope before them over her sister's shoulder, the uneasiness evident in her blue eyes nearly masked by the blue knit hat that slid down over her forehead, almost too large for her head. "We're really high up..."

Cindy laughed and clapped her red-mittened hands together, her own matching eyes bright with thinly veiled excitement. "Well, of course! That's what makes it _fun_!"

Lauren sighed. If only she hadn't agreed to go with them, after all; instead of standing at the top of the largest hill in the valley, freezing in the snow as she looked down at the dizzyingly high curving slope in anxiety, she could be sitting in the warmth and comfort of her own home, possibly catching up on her studying for their upcoming math test while enjoying some hot tea or cocoa.

But since Cindy wanted to go sledding with Kevin so badly, Lauren felt it was in her duty to tag along, as usual. After all, wasn't that the sort of thing twin sisters did?

"Come on, stop waiting around!" Kevin shouted, raising a fist to the air as he hoisted up his sled, a dark orange saucer. "Let's go!"

Cindy nodded as she prepared her own sled, a wooden toboggan she planned to share with her sister. "You ready, Lauren?"

"Um..." The girl glanced down toward the bottom of the hill again, unsure. Kevin rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you guys at the bottom, then. Later!" He hopped onto the saucer and immediately took off down the slope, spraying snow at the twins as he let out a whoop.

"Hey!" Cindy shouted after him, brushing snow out of her face, and she quickly took a seat at the front of her own sled. "Come on, Lauren, hop on - we can't let him get away with that!"

"Well..." Lauren eyed the sled apprehensively, and her sister turned around with a slightly kinder look in her eye.

"Come on, this'll be fun! Here," she turned to give the sled a pat, "you can sit behind me and hold on to me if you want. You don't even have to look at the hill! And if you don't like it, you don't have to go again. Just try it once! Please, for me?"

"Okay." Lauren made her decision and sat down behind her sister on the toboggan, wrapping her arms around the girl's waist. Her sister always knew just what to say to get her to play along. At the bottom of the hill, Kevin had already stopped and gotten off his sled, covered in snow. But he was a long way down... Lauren closed her eyes just as the sled took off.

Cindy screamed gleefully as the sled gathered speed, twisting and turning down the snow-frosted slope. Bitingly-cold air slapped at the bare skin on the girls' faces, and Lauren struggled to keep her overly-large hat down on her head with one hand as she kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut, keeping a tight hold on her sister with her other arm. Unable to keep it in any longer, she finally let out a high-pitched scream, half out of fear and half... excitement.

Lauren was just about to risk opening her eyes when her face was sprayed with snow and the sled jolted to a sudden halt. Cindy let out a peal of laughter, and Lauren finally opened her eyes to find that they had made it safely to the bottom of the slope after all, Kevin excitedly jumping up and down beside them. "Wasn't that fun?"

"Yeah!" Cindy agreed, climbing off of the toboggan and slapping the boy a high-five as she brushed snow off her coat. "That was awesome!"

To her surprise, Lauren found herself smiling. "Yeah... um, can we go again?"

oOoOo

The blonde female farmer of Zephyr Town was just taste-testing the vegetable stew she had simmering on the stove top when she heard a single, resounding knock on the door. "Oh, I'll be right there!" she shouted, letting the ladle she had just been sipping from fall back into the pot with a clatter and almost tripping over one of the cats on her way to the door.

Quickly readjusting her flowery pink hat and taking a deep breath, Anita pulled the door open with a flourish and beamed at her visitor.

"Welcome, Amir! I'm so glad you could make it, it's getting awfully snowy out!" Anita quickly shut the door behind the young prince as he stepped inside and busied herself in taking off his coat and hanging it on the hook on the right wall, despite faint protests that he could do it himself. "I was almost afraid you weren't going to show up, which would have been such a shame, since you didn't have any plans for Starry Night... And then _I_ would have been alone, too, since Oliver is out... And how dreadfully silly would that have been, two young people sitting alone and apart on the most romantic day of the year?" She said all of this in a single, hurried breath.

The white haired prince let out a small chuckle as he studied the flushed look on the short blonde girl's face. "I hope you didn't go to any trouble for me, Anita."

"Oh no, none at all! ...Wait, I mean, I-" She was interrupted by a dinging sound coming from the kitchen. "Oh, that'll be the rolls! You just sit tight!" She gestured to the small dining table in the center of the room before rushing off back into the kitchen.

The prince gingerly sat down at the worn wooden table and clasped his hands together. One of the farmer's cats rubbed up against his leg with a soft mew, and Amir bent down to give the ginger feline a scratch behind the ears. When he sat back up again, Anita had returned, balancing two wineglasses and an assortment of soft dinner rolls on a platter.

"I baked some bread, and brought out some wine since you like that sort of stuff, don't you? And the stew will be right out; I made it with vegetables from the farm, since I heard it was your favorite food," Anita went on as she set the large plate down and handed a wineglass to Amir, but not before giving the deep crimson liquid within it a small frown. "You don't think red wine is too _romantic_ , do you?"

Amir laughed gently as he took a sip. "I'm sure it's fine, Anita. It isn't like this is meant to be a romantic festival or anything, right?" He added teasingly, and Anita blushed before hurrying back to serve the stew.

"R-right!"

Within moments, the farmer returned with two large bowls of steaming hot stew. For a few minutes, they ate in silence, though it wasn't at all awkward.

"I made a dessert too," Anita mentioned shyly, "I-I baked a small chocolate cake for later, if you like... We don't have to eat it all, though, Oliver made me promise I'd save him a slice or two..."

"You really did go all out, didn't you?" Amir noted as he pulled his dinner roll apart, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "I will have to repay you for this sometime."

Anita pressed her spoon to her lips thoughtfully. "You don't have to do that, Amir. This was all my idea, after all."

But the prince shook his head. "I don't know about you, but in my native country, one would show appreciation for a good meal by returning the favor. Even a prince. I'm sure it works about the same around here."

"Well... I though you might not want to come over here for Starry Night... You know, since you're a prince, and I-I'm just some small town farmer girl... My house is small and nothing extravagant, and I share it with an older brother, and I don't have much to give other than farm products..." The girl admitted, her face pink.

"Anita, you must know I don't care about things like that." The prince gestured around the room, at the meal, at Anita herself. "This is perfect. I'm grateful that you invited me."

"I know it's not much, but it's _home_ , you know?" Anita added in a quiet voice, glancing down at her bowl of half-finished stew bashfully.

Amir nodded. "I like it."

oOoOo

"Daisy, dear? Could you help Stuart string up the lights over the windows?" Ethel called from the front counter of Zephyr Town's only hotel. A familiar head of golden blonde corkscrew curls popped out from one of the guest bedrooms, partially hidden by a cutesy white cap, as the elderly lady continued, "You know how his back is... At this age, he can't handle going up those ladders on his own. We're not as young as we used to be."

"I may be old, but my hearing still works just fine!" the elderly man in question grumbled irritably, though his eyes sparkled with a trace of laughter behind rounded spectacles as he sifted through boxes of multicolored glass lights and boughs of evergreen to hang over the doorways and line the walls.

"Of course, Ethel!" The young blonde maid replied cheerfully, always willing to help out her grandparent figures in whatever way she could. Though the young lady wasn't related to the aging couple in any biological way, here in Zephyr Town, she considered them her family. They _were_ her family.

She left for a few moments and then returned with an old wooden ladder, prepared to help decorate the hotel lobby and add to the already festive mood. Stuart continued sorting through the cardboard boxes as Daisy rested the ladder against a wall and climbed up without hesitation, a string of white lights in her arms.

"Oh, do be careful, dear!" Ethel fretted worriedly. "I don't want you getting hurt now!"

"I'll be fine," Daisy grumbled, though she never became irritated with the old woman. Not when she cared so deeply for her.

"Daisy?" A rush of cold air burst into the lobby as the hotel doors opened, and a familiar young man with long, wavy brown hair hidden beneath an orange cap entered, a small red wrapped package tucked under his arm. The blonde girl brightened at the sight of her best friend in the valley, the artist Angelo, and in her haste to greet him, she tripped on a ladder rung and fell down rather ungracefully.

"Whoa, easy there." Angelo rushed forward and caught her by the arm before she could land face-first on the floor. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine! Don't worry Ethel, Stuart, I didn't get hurt. Thanks for catching me, Angelo," Daisy replied somewhat breathlessly.

"No problem. I, um... Well, I actually came over to give you something." He held out the small, flat gift box sheepishly. "You know, since it's Starry Night, and you didn't have a date... I thought you might appreciate this."

"Oh, you didn't have to do that, Angelo!" She smiled playfully. "Ooohh, but what could it be? More cookies, perhaps?" Not that she would mind that at all - those cookies Angelo brought her last time had been delicious. He always knew she had a powerful sweet tooth.

Angelo grinned vaguely at her. "You'll see. Go ahead and open it up!"

Not one to hesitate, Daisy quickly and neatly unwrapped the package and lifted the lid while Angelo, Stuart, and Ethel looked on. She took one look inside and gasped - there in the box sat the most gorgeous colored sketch of the city skyline at sunset - _her_ city skyline, where she grew up - that she had ever seen. A masterpiece of perfectly replicated, dark forms of high-rises highlighted by a beautiful blend of orange, pink, and purple shades in the background, making up the sky.

"Oh, wow…" Daisy breathed, her eyes widening in amazement. She held it up for all to see, and the elderly hotel owners appropriately 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the wonderful gift. "Angelo, this- this is amazing!"

She looked back up at him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes despite attempts to blink them away. "How did you manage to draw this so perfectly?"

Angelo blushed. "Well, I actually drew it the one time I went to visit the city for that art exhibition, remember? I thought you might like it; that it might remind you of home."

He gasped as Daisy quickly pulled him into a hug. "Oh, thank you so, _so_ much! It's the best gift ever! We'll have to hang it up right here in the lobby, won't we?" She glanced back at Ethel and Stuart, who nodded in unison, knowing smiles on their faces.

"And," the blonde added, poking Angelo in the chest with one finger, "you'll have to teach me to draw like that sometime."

He smiled back at her. "It's a date, then."

oOoOo

"So, do you happen to have a particular recipe in mind?" Lloyd asked, readjusting his glasses as he perused the heavy cookbook on the counter in front of him, scanning its pages for cookie recipes. Beside him, the mayor's daughter nodded cheerfully, brushing a lock of long orange hair behind her ear. "Oh, yes, it's the one right there on page thirty. The sugar cookie one."

"Sure." Although Lloyd wasn't a huge fan of sweets, he didn't mind making them when he was with Sherry. She made everything sound so... fun. Guess that was part of being such a glowing optimist.

Finally, he found the correct recipe in the book, and began to read off the instructions out loud so that Sherry could follow along as she collected together the appropriate ingredients and supplies from around the kitchen. " _Ahem..._ You have to mix the butter, sugar, and eggs together in a medium sized bowl-"

Sherry nodded. "I already did tha-" She was interrupted by the loud entry of her father, Mayor Felix, into the room _,_ and let out a squeak as she nearly dropped an egg onto the floor in surprise.

"How's the baking going, you two?" He boomed. "Need any help? I'm getting hungry!"

Sherry sighed, though she didn't sound all that irritated. "No, father, I told you we would be fine. We don't need anymore help, it's just going to take some time for the cookies to bake." Though she didn't want to hurt his feelings, the truth was, her father was not the best at cooking, which was why she usually took care of the kitchen duties in their household on her own.

"Oh, please. Allow me!" Mayor Felix snatched up a whisk from the counter and whipped it around in an overly-dramatic fashion. "...Now how do you work this thing?"

"Er, no father, that's all right," Sherry stammered, grinning a bit at the bemused glance that Lloyd shot her from his position behind Felix, "But thank you for the offer, regardless."

"Are you sure, dear? Now, I don't want you working yourself too hard, especially when you have your little date tonight!" The mayor turned toward Lloyd standing near the doorway and eyed him suggestively, and his daughter's face flushed a deep shade of pink.

"Lloyd's not my _date_ ," she stammered again in embarrassment, "We're just friends! We-we didn't want to both spend the Starry Night festival all alone, is all! So I invited Lloyd to come over and help bake cookies!"

" _Right_ ," Felix winked at the blushing girl, and even Lloyd had to stifle a smile despite himself. It wasn't every day that he saw Sherry getting so worked up and stumbling over her words like that. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two alone, then! Oh, and keep an eye out for the mistletoe in the hall!"

" _Father_!"

Still chortling, Felix pushed his way out the door, but not before giving Lloyd a one-armed hug that left the young man coughing and sputtering, his turban knocked askew.

"Sorry about that," Sherry apologized as he caught his breath and hurriedly adjusted his headwear in his attempt to maintain a dignified appearance, "My father sometimes forgets his own strength."

"That's... quite all right."

"Oh, good."

The pair stared at each other for a few awkward moments of silence before quickly averting their eyes, Lloyd still clutching his turban, Sherry absentmindedly picking at her skirt.

"So..." Lloyd began.

"Yes?"

"...Are we baking cookies, or what?"

" _Oh_! Oh, yes!" Flustered, Sherry turned back to her mixing bowl on the counter. Lloyd turned back to the recipe book.

"So..." He glanced up from his page for a moment, drawing out his words. "About what your father said about us, regarding a date...?"

"Oh, don't mind him," Sherry chuckled, distractedly twirling the whisk between her fingers. "You know, he gets these crazy ideas in his head, and-"

"Well, I was just thinking... I wouldn't mind making this a date," Lloyd interrupted quietly, so quietly, refusing to meet Sherry's eyes. "Perhaps it's not such a crazy idea after all."

"Oh!" Sherry's eyes widened, but she couldn't hide the hopeful smile that crept up on her face. "...Well, then a date it is!"

* * *

 **A/N: Part 2 will be posted soon! - CCM**


	2. Starry Nights

**A/N: And now for Part 2 - yeah, nothing unusual here, just more fluff and lots of it. Would have posted it sooner, but I was away for a while. And FBW, I'm glad you were actually around to notice this. I didn't realize you hadn't posted yours either, but I guess it all works out then! Makes me feel a bit better about it at least, haha. -CCM**

* * *

...and Starry Nights

"I had a wonderful time with you at dinner, Ivan," Freya said with a small smile as the young man in question held the door for her, ushering her into the warmth of his home. The couple had just returned from Zephyr Café after a glass of wine each and a date-night meal - rice with fresh sashimi for Ivan and spicy curry for Freya.

"And I with you." Ivan quickly returned the smile as he closed the door behind him, locking out the cold that had hounded them the entire walk back. Luckily, they didn't have to walk far at all, as they both lived just down the street from the café; Freya in a small house by herself, and Ivan a bit further down the road in the home he shared with his younger brother Dirk.

"It's so lovely being able to relax with you after an especially frustrating day at work. Although," Freya added with the slightest hint of a frown, "you didn't have to pay for my meal, you know. I _do_ have a well-paying job, and it's not like Zephyr Café is all that pricey. Not that I don't appreciate it, of course," she said quickly.

"Well, there you have it. Anything for you, Freya." Ivan laughed as he flipped the light switch. "It's Starry Night, of course I wanted to treat my girlfriend to something nice! You've done so much for me, it was the least I could do to return the favor. _Especially_ after you had to go to work on a festival day."

"You had to work, too..." The brunette restrained an eye roll by quickly wrapping her arms around her boyfriend in a tight hug. "Thank you."

Despite himself, Ivan blushed. Freya had never been the type of girl to indulge in frequent displays of affection, serious as she was, and as she backed away, it was evident that she, too, was turning a bit pink in the face. "You really are quite the gentleman, you know."

"And you are quite the lady."

Ivan smiled at his girlfriend as he watched her unwrap the bright red scarf from around her neck, shaking out the stray snowflakes from her straight brown hair with her fingers. She took off her coat to hang it on the hook by the door and promptly shivered. "Brr... it really is rather cold in here."

Ivan nodded in agreement. "I'll go light the fireplace in the living room... that should help."

Freya smiled and clapped her hands together. "I'll make up a pot of hot coffee, then."

Minutes later, the couple was seated together on the sofa before a warm fire, a quilt wrapped around them as they each held a mug of coffee. Along with her coffee, Freya also had a paperback novel that she held in one hand as she read. "I've been so busy with work, it's nice to finally have a bit of time off to read," she explained. "This is very relaxing."

Ivan stroked Freya's hair absentmindedly, and caught a whiff of her light herbal perfume, the one she knew was always his very favorite. "I don't want you overworking yourself," he murmured, glancing outside at the falling snow just beyond the window pane. He knew she had a tendency to do so; he knew almost everything to know about her, they were so close.

The brunette girl responded by elbowing him in the chest teasingly without looking up. "I could say the same about you, Ivan."

She flipped the page of her book. "...Anyway, it's so quiet in here. Why don't you play one of your records?"

Ivan quickly obliged and rose from the sofa to put on one of his classical records that he knew Freya adored. He might as well, seeing as how Dirk never wanted to listen to it when he was home, and it was one of those rare times that Dirk was actually working later than Ivan himself was. Unfortunately, neither nor Freya got off work this Starry Night.

Freya gave her boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek as he settled back down beside her, and then began humming along to the music as she leaned back and rested her head against his shoulder, her eyes focused on the printed words in her novel. Ivan watched her with a smile before closing his eyes, listening to the fine instrumental music and simply enjoying Freya's presence as he let the warmth from the fireplace wash over him. Here, the cold outside couldn't reach them.

oOoOo

"Ugh," Dirk groaned, leaning over the counter in Zephyr Café in what could only be described as a state of distress, "I can't believe I had to _work late_ during the Starry Night festival, of all days!"

"Dirk," Marian, his pretty blonde coworker, chided him gently, "don't lean over the counter like that. And what do you expect, it _is_ one of our busiest nights of the year, after all."

That was indeed true - Dirk hadn't seen the dining room that crowded in quite some time, as many residents of Zephyr Town and visitors to the weekly bazaar alike seemed had shown up for dinner that night, more than half of them on , even his own brother Ivan had eaten dinner at the café just earlier with Freya, much to Dirk's slight envy. Ivan was often hailed as the good-looking, more mature brother, despite the fact that Dirk was also an adult and not at all unattractive if he did say so himself, and while he had nothing against Freya, sometimes the very sight of the couple sent a small wave of bitterness over him, as much as he hated to admit it.

"Well, you don't have an actual _date_ for the festival," Dirk sighed, turning back toward the blonde, "so of course you don't care whether you work tonight or not. But _me_ , on the other hand-"

"Dirk," Marian interrupted pointedly, "I might not have a date to the festival, nor do I especially want one, but I know for a fact that you don't have a date tonight either."

"Oh, yeah?" The short brunette crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her with as much dignity as he could muster, being a head shorter than her, "And how, exactly, would you know?"

"Because," Marian laughed lightly, ignoring her coworker's indignation at her educated assumption, "if you really did have a date tonight, that would be all you could talk about! Why, I would know everything about the lucky girl by now! But instead, you've been quiet all night." She began to wipe some glasses down with a dishrag and teasingly shooed Dirk away with one hand.

"Now go clear that empty table in the corner, we have another customer!"

Dirk turned and saw that Marian was, in fact, correct. A familiarly haughty-looking girl with short blue hair adorned with ribbons had just wandered in through the café's front entrance, her unnaturally pale cheeks flushed pink from the cold to match her piercing magenta eyes. _Antoinette._ Dirk froze when she looked up and those oddly-colored eyes met his own.

Shaking his head, Dirk broke away from his trance and scurried over to clear away the table for her, Marian giggling from behind the counter as she watched him collect the plates and silverware from the previous customer and wipe the table's surface down much more clumsily than usual.

"Would you like to order anything?" He asked Antoinette hesitantly as she stiffly sat down, and she glanced up at him with her startlingly fuchsia eyes before quickly averting her gaze again, her head lowered slightly.

"Just a cherry tea, please."

Dirk nodded and hurried back toward the kitchen, ignoring Marian's teasing looks as he prepared the tea and returned to the table minutes later. Upon approaching her for the second time, Dirk placed the steaming cup of tea on the table in front of the girl, and making a moment's decision, he sat down in the empty chair across from her. "Hey, um... I just thought... you look a little lonely."

Well, it _is_ the Starry Night festival, Dirk, and I _don't_ have a date, so it's only to be expected." She tapped a manicured fingernail against the wooden tabletop, eyes downcast. "Normally, I end up spending this festival with Sherry, but she's a bit busy with someone else..."

Dirk laughed. "Yeah, same here. I usually just hang out with Ivan on Starry Night, but this year he actually had a date with Freya. It's about time they made it official, really."

Antoinette nodded thoughtfully as she sipped her hot tea. "You know, it's somewhat funny that we both don't have this year, and yet, here we are, sitting at a table for two in the café together."

Dirk raised an eyebrow at her as she smugly finished off the rest of her cherry tea in one gulp. "Well, when you put like that..."

"So would you two lovebirds like to order anything else?" Marian interrupted the two in a lightly teasing voice, hands on her hips as she appeared at the side of their table as she glanced knowingly at the pale girl's empty teacup. Both Dirk and Antoinette glared at he mention of lovebirds, and the blonde woman shook her head good-naturedly. "Dirk, dear, you do remember you're supposed to _working_ now, right?"

"Oh, uh, right! I'm so sorry, Marian! I-" He hurriedly attempted to get out of his seat, but Marian pushed him back down.

"Don't worry about it," she said with a wink, "it'll be our little secret. Besides, I'm sure you could use a break."

"Oh, you're the best, Marian! That would be great!" He faltered as he glanced back at the blue-haired girl, sitting stoically with her hands folded in her lap. "That is, uh, if you don't mind, Antoinette... I, uh, don't want to intrude or anything if you'd prefer I'd left you alone..."

The girl could barely suppress a small smile. "That would be... fine by me, Dirk." His face lit up, and he turned back to Marian to order.

"How about... two hot chocolates, and an order of assorted cookies, please!"

"Of course, if that's all right with you?" He glanced back toward Antoinette, and when she nodded, he grinned.

Marian scribbled down the order and nodded before turning away, her back to them so they wouldn't feel embarrassed by the smile on her face. "Coming right up."

oOoOo

"You should come out, Emiko, just this once." The brown-haired farmer held out his hand to the pale woman, but she didn't take it right away. "Please? It's the Starry Night festival tonight, and there's something I wanted to show you."

The ebony-haired keeper of the water shrine behind the waterfall lifted a hand to the tiny sparkling amulet against her chest, nervously feeling the cold crystal beneath her fingertips. Starry Night festival... It sounded vaguely familiar to her, like a distant memory long forgotten, but she couldn't recall what it meant.

"I-I am afraid," she admitted.

The farmer Oliver had visited her many times and told her of the wonders of the surface world - the farm that he shared with his sister Anita, where they grew crops and cared for various animals; the other villagers in the valley, who were all just as welcoming, according to Oliver, though Emiko herself had never met them; the weekly town bazaar where crowds gathered from near and far to buy and sell their goods.

But she hadn't ever left the shrine before, not in any time she remembered. A nervous feeling fluttered in the pit of her stomach, but Oliver's deep brown eyes were warm, and she could feel the kind, honest aura radiating from him.

"It'll be fine... I'll be right there with you."

She could trust him.

"All right..." Gently, she laid a delicate hand in his outstretched palm, and allowed the farmer to lead her down the trail winding away from the water shrine out through the portal to and from her secret cavern, past the waterfall that was currently frozen from the wintry chill, its icy surface glittering like diamond in the moonlight.

"Trust me, this'll be fun." Oliver smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "I promise you won't regret this, Emiko. You have my word."

Together they stepped out into the night, and Emiko gasped, her breath billowing out into the cold air in front of her. The world was so... white. The earth, the sloping hillside, the tallest treetops, even the surface of the frozen river were all coated in a thick blanket of powdery white. And to top it all off, the sky above her was crumbling, falling to the earth, soft white flakes twirling down all around her.

For a moment, all Emiko could do was look around in amazement, her eyes wide as the cold specks of sky swirled around them. She almost forgot that Oliver was standing beside her, watching the strange icy flakes fall as well.

"What are these?"

"Huh?" Oliver glanced at her incredulously, an eyebrow raised. ""You mean you've never seen snow before?"

He knew that the guardian of the water shrine hadn't been to the surface world in a while, but he never realized that she might not have ever seen snow in her lifetime.

The raven-haired beauty shook her head somewhat apologetically. "Oh, no... I have not entered the surface world in quite some time, not in recent memory. And I-I didn't realize it would be quite so... cold."

She put a finger to her lips thoughtfully, looking around at the winter scenery that was so foreign to her. "Not that I mind; it's just different."

Her silvery eyes widened in wonder as she stared back up into the sky. She lifted a pale hand, and a snowflake drifted between her slender fingers, landing lightly on her bare palm. Before she cold lean closer to inspect the mysterious white fleck, however, the snowflake had melted almost instantly, and she gasped.

"It's gone!"

"Well yeah, they're snowflakes," Oliver said with a shrug, though he didn't bother trying to hide the grin on his face. "They don't last forever."

"Well, they're beautiful," Emiko declared, looking back at Oliver, her eyes bright. She blushed slightly, her ivory cheeks turning the faintest shade of pink. "Thank you so much for showing me this. I never could have imagined something so wonderful. This is... magical."

"I'd definitely have to agree with you there," the farmer conceded, brushing her hand with his calloused fingers. "The snow _is_ beautiful, even if it's a pain having to deal with it on the farm sometimes. But really, this was my pleasure. Nobody should be alone on Starry Night."

His gaze wandered back up to the sky and he smiled, pointing. Emiko glanced up to see what he was looking at.

"Look - it really is a starry night."

Above the couple, the clouds began to clear away as the snow gradually ceased to fall, revealing a deep ebony sky sprinkled with too many silvery stars to even try to count, thousands of tiny twinkling dots like sparkling diamonds scattered across a swathe of pitch-black silk. The entire clearing beside the waterfall was bathed in pristine moonlight, giving the landscape an eerie sort of beauty, but Oliver could swear that nothing in all of Zephyr Town was more beautiful than Emiko herself.

Maybe someday he could introduce her to even more of the surface world.

oOoOo

The three children of Zephyr Town darted across the bridge into the main section of the village, hefting their snow-coated sleds behind them, eyes bright and faces reddened from the cold. The sky had just begun to clear up as they finished their sledding, and it was about time they were on their way back home to snuggle up in thick quilted blankets and enjoy mugs of steaming hot cocoa in front of the fireplace to warm themselves up.

Kevin, however, paused in the middle of the wooden bridge, setting his sled down against the rail and looking back at the twins mischievously. "Do you think the river is frozen enough to go ice skating?"

Cindy shrugged, taking a doubtful look at the frozen river below the bridge. "I don't know, but I'm not gonna be the one to find out if it's not!"

Beside her, Lauren shivered - if she was cold now, she couldn't even begin to imagine how cold she would feel if she fell into that icy river. "I just want to go home now," she muttered. "I'm getting too cold; my fingers feel like they're about to fall off!" And she didn't like that look in Kevin's eye, the one that said he had an idea that she probably wouldn't agree with.

Kevin crossed his arms in front of his chest, tapping his foot impatiently. "...Can't we at least have a good snowball fight or something before we head in? I'm not ready to go back yet!"

Lauren whispered a hurried "no" while her sister laughed and said "sure," and Kevin, of course, took that as a resounding "yes."

"Come on, then! You better watch out!" The young brown-haired boy ran straight for the nearest snowbank piled up on the village side of the bridge, and Cindy squealed and pelted after him as he dug into the snow and began to press a powdery clump into a ball.

Sighing in defeat, as was usual, Lauren pulled up the toboggan and leaned it against the bridge railing in front of her to use as a shield. She didn't have very good aim, dodging ability, or snowball-making skills, after all.

"Incoming!" Kevin launched his enormous, near-perfect snowball at Cindy, who had scurried toward the nearby Zephyr Café to take cover behind the chalkboard sign right outside the door, which declared their Starry Night specials in flowery pink handwriting, most likely Marian's.

At that moment, Dirk and the blue-haired girl Antoinette were just exiting the double doors of the café into the snow-covered street, and the snowball seemed to sail through the air in slow motion before coming to an explosive halt right in Antoinette's unsuspecting face.

Dirk took one look at her and stifled a snort. Kevin, Cindy, and Lauren simultaneously gasped. Antoinette froze in place, her eyes wide in shock.

"Who did that?!" Shaking her head and furiously wiping the snow out of her eyes, her cheeks smarting from the sudden icy cold of the snowball's hit, Antoinette turned to spot the trio of children scattered around the edge of the bridge, all wearing varying expressions of fear mixed with glee. "You!"

Dirk put a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Don't worry, An. I've got this."

Before the bluenette could argue either his plot for revenge or his nickname for her, Dirk had reached into the nearest snowbank piled up against the wall of the café and padded together a snowball for himself. Tossing it once into the air and quickly catching it to test out its form, he lobbed it toward the children, who shrieked with laughter as the snowball hit its target - Kevin's face.

Within minutes, the five had broken out into an all-out snowball war, and were eventually joined by Daisy and Angelo, who had been headed to the café for a sweet late evening snack, and Anita and Amir, who were on their way back to the hotel and had stopped to see what all the excitement was. They all quickly joined in the battle, even the foreign prince who had never experienced a snowball fight before in his life. From one of the windows of the café, Marian and her grandmother Joan looked out at the scene and laughed.

Suddenly, Dirk's elder brother Ivan stormed out of his house down the street toward the snowball-fighting group, followed by Freya, who bore a confused albeit rather intrigued expression.

"What is going on here?" Ivan asked, glancing around at them all in surprise. "We heard lots of shouting, and Freya wanted to know if you were all okay."

He was promptly smacked across the face with a snowball thrown by his snickering younger brother, who soon broke out into a peal of hyena-like laughter. "We're great!"

Antoinette and Freya exchanged a somewhat amused glance as Ivan brushed off the snow from the impact, struggling to maintain his mature composure, and Kevin jumped up to give Dirk a joyous high-five. "Nice one!"

Lauren blushed in embarrassment as Cindy giggled behind her, snowball in hand, "This is the best Starry Night ever!'

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry if Emiko seemed out of character or anything - while I do like her, I barely remember her or her personality at all, so I kind of just improvised what I thought would work for the scene concerning her. Same with pretty much everyone else, haha. Hope you don't mind that cheesy ending, and thanks for reading, especially Fading Butterfly Wings! -CCM**


End file.
